CMS Status Update:
Back to School!
This website is the primary source for updates on the January 31, 2025 incident at Covington Middle School. Updates will include details related to building maintenance and upgrades, and reopening procedures. After several weeks of virtual learning, Covington Middle School returned to in-person instruction on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. Teachers and staff returned to the building on Monday, March 17. There were no virtual classes for students on that day.
What Happened:
On January 31, 2025, students and teachers in the third-floor hallway at the front of the building reported a strong, unidentified odor. Several individuals in the same area also began feeling unwell.
After standard janitorial and maintenance procedures failed to determine the source, students and staff were moved across the street to the Community Center for further investigation. During this transfer, one official involved in the investigation became visibly ill, and EMS was called. While on-site, another staff member also sought medical attention. Students were then dismissed following standard procedures, and additional specialists were brought in to assess the situation.
Incident Evaluation:
A team of experts, including local fire and EMS, Roanoke Regional Hazmat, Virginia Department of Health (VDH), and Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM), was called to investigate. On February 2, VDEM identified two mechanical issues in the first-floor kitchen:
- An inefficiently burning stove was removed, and the gas line was capped.
- An overhead exhaust fan operating below peak efficiency was repaired.
During this time, school leadership received unofficial reports of students and teachers seeking medical testing, with some showing elevated carboxyhemoglobin levels, an indicator of potential carbon monoxide exposure. Since carbon monoxide is odorless, it was unclear whether these health reports were linked to the third-floor odor and symptoms. Out of an abundance of caution, school leadership:
- Kept the building closed and shifted students to virtual learning.
- Engaged two independent companies to conduct full-building air quality and mechanical assessments.
Current Status:
After following expert testing and analysis from multiple state and local agencies and reviewing two detailed private engineering reports, prepared by ECS MidAtlantic, LLC and Facility Dynamics Engineering (FDE), the AHPS School Board confirmed their confidence that the building meets all necessary safety standards and approved the return to in-person instruction on March 18, 2025.
Through these efforts, AHPS leadership identified several additional opportunities to improve the building environment during this closure period, including:
- Repairing an older air handling unit (RTU-4) on the third floor
- Cleaning the boiler room to remove excess moisture
- Repainting the boys’ locker room to more completely repair previous water damage
- Cleaning out radiators throughout the building
- Completing a full deep cleaning to refresh the full interior learning environment
The two most recent engineering reports are available below All other building inspection and incident reports are available in the transparency archive.
At this time, AHPS has completed their primary investigative effort and teachers and students have returned to school. However, ongoing analysis will continue in order to ensure all learnings from this incident are captured and applied to future planning efforts and policy recommendations.
New Reports
Clearing the Way for Return to In-Person Instruction
ECS Mid-Atlantic, LLC (ECS) was hired to provide Alleghany Highlands School Board (AHSB) with Indoor Air Quality Testing Services performed at Covington Middle School located at 606 South Lexington Avenue in Covington, Virginia. This report summarizes their observations, analytical results, findings, and recommendations related to the work performed.
Facility Dynamics Engineering (FDE) was hired to evaluate Covington Middle School’s building mechanical systems with a focus on performance, safety, and efficiency. The safety and efficiency aspect of this investigation focused primarily on the air side of the building’s mechanical systems. This report summarizes their observations, results, findings, and recommendations.
Incident Timeline
Following an investigation by AHPS Staff, as well as the Covington Police Chief and Emergency Manager, it was determined the odor did not require an evacuation.
Teachers were allowed to move classes to another location in the building to help students concentrate on coursework.
Parents were provided an update via robocall that morning.